Actor Clayton Moore was best known for playing the fictional western character The Lone Ranger from 1949–1951 and 1954-1957. Moore had a pay dispute and left the series. As "Clay Moore," he made a few more westerns and serials, sometimes playing the villain. Moore was replaced for a time by actor John Hart. The show’s producers eventually came to terms and rehired Moore.The LoneRanger was the highest-rated television program on ABC in the early 1950s.